Printing devices requiring a supply of "toner", a very finely pulverized light-absorbing (and therefore usually black) particulate material, are very well known in the art, being found in virtually every office environment in the form of "copy machines" for copying documents or "laser printers" associated with data processing or data transmission systems.
Such a device is typically equipped with a bin-like receptacle for containing its supply of toner. Because the toner is very finely pulverized in order to facilitate its deployment in the configuration of an image without introducing undue distortions caused by the toner's granularity, toner particles are very susceptible of becoming airborne when handled, thus contaminating the surrounding area.
Well known in the art for limiting such dust contamination is the toner bottle having a long, relatively narrow neck. The bottle may be inverted and the neck inserted into the toner receptacle for the filling thereof. If care is employed in inverting the bottle, little or no toner will be spilled outside of the receptacle. Once the bottle is fully inverted, the toner, being finely pulverized, is able to flow because of gravity through the narrow neck and emerge into the receptacle. The flow may be abetted by shaking the bottle, or by squeezing it if it is of a flexible material. Upon the toner's emerging from the bottle and falling to the bottom of the receptacle, a portion of it will become airborne in the form of dust, and may escape from the receptacle and eventually settle on surrounding objects. Its light-absorbing qualities, which usually impart to it a deep a black appearance, render this a messy and objectionable condition.
It is thus a general object of the present invention to provide improved toner-supplied printing devices.
It is a particular object of the present invention to provide toner-supplied printing devices with means for limiting the dust contamination engendered by refilling the supply of toner.